De la Espriella leads Colombia vote after tight presidential race

Right-wing political newcomer Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly led Colombia’s presidential election after an initial count, setting the country on course for a sharp turn in security policy while his left-wing rival and outgoing President Gustavo Petro questioned the preliminary result.

With more than 99% of votes counted in the preliminary tally, de la Espriella had 49.7% of the vote to 48.7% for Iván Cepeda, a close ally of Petro. The remaining ballots were blank votes. No final result has been certified, and NPR reported that a slower official manual count is expected in the coming days, though Colombia’s quick counts have historically closely tracked final results.

De la Espriella, a lawyer, businessman and political outsider endorsed by Donald Trump, celebrated the count as a mandate for change. “Today begins a new stage for our country, a stage built on the free and democratic will of millions of citizens who chose to believe in a great, safe, and prosperous Colombia full of opportunities,” he posted on social media.

Cepeda has not conceded. He said the preliminary count was “not yet official or binding” and that his campaign is challenging results from around 33,000 ballot boxes, according to NPR. “Once the official canvass takes place and its final result is produced, and the corresponding verifications have been carried out, we will recognize the official result that emerges from that structure,” he said.

Petro also disputed any immediate proclamation of a winner. In posts on X, he said “neither can be proclaimed president” after a “pre-count result,” called for calm and demanded an audit of voting software. He alleged some polling stations were “compromised” but did not provide evidence.

The result, if confirmed, would mark a dramatic shift in Colombia’s approach to its decades-long internal armed conflict. Security was voters’ top concern, according to pollsters cited by NPR. Armed groups and cartels, including FARC dissidents, the ELN and the Clan del Golfo, have expanded their control over cocaine trafficking routes and illegal mining sites, and membership in such groups has reportedly doubled in the past five years. Last year, a brutal offensive along the Colombia-Venezuela border displaced tens of thousands of people. Cocaine production in Colombia, the world’s largest producer, has reached a record high.

De la Espriella, who calls himself “El Tigre,” has pledged to scrap negotiations with illegal armed groups and pursue a military crackdown. NPR reported that he promised a sweeping military offensive against guerrilla groups on his first day in office and said in a television interview that he would “bomb all of the camps holding narco-terrorists.” He has also pledged to intensify attacks on drug-smuggling aircraft and boats, build mega-prisons, shrink the state and reform the health system. NPR reported that he has promised 10 “mega prisons” and said he would open the countryside to fracking and reverse Petro’s moratorium on new hydrocarbon and mining contracts.

De la Espriella made his name as a criminal defense lawyer. His clients included Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro who faces U.S. money-laundering charges, and David Murcia Guzman, one of Colombia’s biggest fraudsters. De la Espriella has said such work was part of his job as a defense lawyer.

On Colombia’s Caribbean coast, where de la Espriella had strong support, crowds gathered in Barranquilla wearing yellow national football jerseys, waving Colombian flags and chanting “stand firm for the homeland” and “Petro out!” Some wore hats reading “Make Colombia Great Again!” Trump responded on Truth Social: “He Won, BIG!”

Trump had endorsed de la Espriella, saying he would “stop illegal immigration, crack down on crime and drugs, and restore LAW AND ORDER!” and would have the “total support and strength of the United States behind him.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated him, NPR reported, writing that “Colombia’s best days are ahead.”